TENS OF MILLIONS OF ‘SMART KEGS’ ENVISIONED BY CEO OF STARTUP USING IOT TO EMPOWER BREWERS

Michael Burton’s love affair with beer started when his wife Brooke put him onto the ‘good stuff’. Since then, the Wollongong duo have made it their mission to protect the bottom lines – and reputations – of local and international brewers.

Their technology startup, Binary Beer, has developed an Internet of Things (IoT) platform that enables breweries to not only keep track of their kegs throughout the supply chain but also monitor the freshness of their contents. Since incorporating insights from a recent trial involving their local brewery Five Barrel Brewing Co, the founders have attracted investment from the iAccelerate seed fund, bringing Binary Beer’s valuation to $1 million.

Burton, Binary Beer’s CEO and a computer scientist by trade, spoke to Dynamic Business about the problem his startup is solving for brewers the world over, enjoying the ‘rollercoaster ride’ with his wife, their vision to transform tens of millions of beer kegs into ‘smart’ kegs, and Wollongong’s transformation into the ‘Silicon Valley’ of IoT.

DB: What is the elevator pitch for Binary Beer?

Burton: Brewers lose control over their kegs the moment they go out the brewery door. With kegs typically ‘disappearing’ for months at a time, they can only hope their kegs are stored in cool conditions, with the beer served fresh to customers, and that they are returned in a timely manner. Read more